A Great Britain & Ireland tour with a spooky spin

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Date: 29 Oct 2018

By: Go Ahead Tours

If Halloween is one of your favorite holidays and you’re always up for a good ghost story, then Haunted Halloween Tour: Dublin, Edinburgh & London is the trip for you! Along with attending the Samhuinn Fire Festival in Edinburgh and following in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper in London, excursions invite you to uncover more of Great Britain and Ireland’s spookier sides. Learn more about the scary spots you’ll visit on tour.

Edinburgh’s Samhuinn Fire Festival

Officially, Samhuinn is a pagan sendoff of summer, ushering in the Celtic New Year along with winter’s chill. But, the festival always coincides with Halloween night, so its traditions have influenced celebrations of the holiday all over the world. Costumes, dances, drumming, and yes—fire, all play a part in the festivities. On tour, you’ll hit the streets with revelers at Calton Hill to join in on all the fun.

The Tower of London

The famous castle’s first fortifications were built in 1066 by William the Conqueror and, in its over 900 years of history, it’s been everything from an army barracks to a spot for safekeeping the Crown Jewels. But its most infamous use was as a prison, where both petty criminals and a few well-known inmates were held. It’s here that Henry VIII imprisoned and executed two of his wives, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, and where dissident Guy Fawkes was tortured for his role in the failed Gunpowder Plot. On tour, you’ll learn more about the Tower of London’s dark past, visiting sites like the Bloody Tower and the scaffold site, where beheadings took place.

Haunted Hell Fire Club

It’s said that this former hunting lodge has been cursed from the beginning. Stones from an ancient burial ground were used for building—when the roof blew off shortly after construction in 1725, local legend held that it was the work of the devil. A few years later, in 1737, the Hell Fire Club began meeting here. Tales of their exploits included playing cards and drinking with demons, black masses, and much debauchery. Eventually, a fire swept through the building, damaging much of the structure and killing several members. The Hell Fire Club disbanded shortly thereafter, but it’s still considered one of Ireland’s most haunted sites.

You can explore the grounds of the Hell Fire Club and the nearby Killakee Stewards House on an excursion, and learn more about the area’s haunted happenings. Then, swap spooky stories over a pint at a nearby pub.